Lauren Boebert, one of the most visible conservatives in Congress, has lost her Colorado House seat to Eileen Laubacher, a retired Navy rear admiral. The Associated Press called the race at 1 p.m. on Friday, roughly 10 days after polls closed, making Boebert the latest Republican incumbent defeated in a midterm election that has reshaped control of Congress.
Laubacher received 187,745 votes, or 48.80 percent, to Boebert’s 184,220, or 47.89 percent, according to the latest tally. Libertarian candidate Douglas Mangeris took 12,742 votes, or 3.31 percent. The margin was about 3,525 votes, with more than 95 percent of ballots counted. Election day was November 3, and the final ballots were counted over a week later. Boebert has not conceded and is considering a recount, and she told Scripps News she would not run for the seat again in 2028 if she lost.
For Colorado’s 4th District, the result means a Republican who nationalised the seat will be replaced by a Democrat with a military background. For the country, it adds to a Republican defeat that has left Democrats in control of both chambers of Congress. NBC’s tally showed Democrats with control of both chambers of Congress. Boebert’s loss is the third time a Republican member from Colorado has lost re-election this cycle, and it came in a district that voted heavily for Trump.
Who is Eileen Laubacher?
Laubacher served in the United States Navy for 34 years, from 1990 to 2024, and retired as a rear admiral. She worked as a senior defense official and defense attaché in New Delhi, and later served as special assistant to the president and senior director for South Asia at the National Security Council. She has described service as a family tradition: her father retired from the Navy after 37 years, and her grandfather was a frogman in World War II.
Her campaign says she drove over 30,000 miles, visited all 21 counties in the district and met with all 14 rural hospitals. She declared victory on Monday while attending new-member orientation at the US Capitol, telling reporters she intended to stay rooted in her district.
Laubacher has said lowering the cost of living is her top priority. Her campaign platform lists everyday costs, housing, health care, prescription drugs, wages, inflation and tariffs, and she has promised to work with anyone serious about solving problems.
How the district broke
The district covers a fast-growing stretch of northern Colorado, including Douglas, Larimer, Weld, Elbert and Arapahoe counties. Laubacher won Douglas County by 11 points and Larimer County by 17 points. Boebert held Weld County by 19 points and Elbert County by 36 points, but those margins were not enough. AP voter polling found that Latino voters and young voters shifted toward Democrats in the 2026 midterms, helping Democrats to wins nationwide, and the result in Colorado’s 4th fits that pattern.
Boebert’s response
Boebert, first elected to the House in 2020, built a national profile as one of its most combative conservatives and a vocal supporter of Trump. Her defeat ends a tenure that began in 2021.
Boebert said her loss was more about voter frustration with the status quo than about her as a candidate. She said Republicans had drifted away from the voters they represent. “Republicans need to listen to voters, not political pundits and consultants,” she said. “We are the ones who are with the voters each and every day.” She has not conceded and has not ruled out a recount.
Colorado’s 4th is one of the most conservative districts in the country, and Boebert had held it comfortably in previous elections. Her defeat, by fewer than 4,000 votes, is smaller than the Libertarian vote total, a detail most recaps skip. It shows how much the ground has shifted under Republican incumbents in a year when voters punished the party over Trump’s economic policies, according to AP polling.
Colorado law requires an automatic recount when the margin is within half a percent of the leader’s vote total, a threshold Laubacher’s lead of about 3,525 votes exceeds. State law still allows an interested party to request a recount, which is the route Boebert has said she is considering.
How many votes did Eileen Laubacher win by? Laubacher led by about 3,525 votes out of 384,707 counted, with more than 95 percent of ballots in. The margin was narrow enough that Boebert has not conceded and is considering a recount.
The result ends a count that stretched ten days past election day. Laubacher is expected to take office in January, when the new Congress convenes. Boebert’s next move is unclear, though she has said she would not run for the seat in 2028 if she lost. A recount, if requested, would delay the final certification of the result. Check back for updates.
